The 17th Ryder Cup Matches were held October 20–22, 1967 at the Champions Golf Club in Houston, Texas. The United States team won the competition by a record score of 23 to 8 points. To date, the 15-point victory margin remains the largest at the Ryder Cup.

Ben Hogan was named the captain of the U.S. team in May 1967, five months before the matches. He opted for the U.S. team to use the smaller British golf ball; the same weight, its diameter was smaller at .

The match had originally been arranged for June 9–11, a date that the British P.G.A. had reluctantly agreed to, as it interfered with the British tournament season. In April 1966, it was agreed that the dates be changed to October 20–22.

The course hosted the U.S. Open two years later in 1969.

Format The Ryder Cup is a match play event, with each match worth one point. From 1963 through 1971 the competition format was as follows: Day 1 — Eight foursomes (alternate shot) matches, four each in morning and afternoon sessions Day 2 — Eight four-ball (better ball) matches, four each in morning and afternoon sessions Day 3 — Sixteen singles matches, eight each in morning and afternoon sessions With a total of 32 points, 16 points were required to win the Cup. All matches were played to a maximum of 18 holes.

Teams Source:

 Team USANameAgePointsrankPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentageBen Hogan 55 Non-playing captainBilly Casper 36 1 3 14 8–3–3 67.86Arnold Palmer 38 2 3 16 11–4–1 71.88Gay Brewer 35 3 0 RookieDoug Sanders 34 4 0 RookieGene Littler 37 5 3 14 5–3–6 57.14Julius Boros 47 6 3 11 7–2–2 72.73Bobby Nichols 31 7 0 RookieAl Geiberger 30 8 0 RookieGardner Dickinson 40 9 0 RookieJohnny Pott 31 10 2 3 1–2–0 33.33

The British team was based on a points system using performances in 1966 and 1967, starting with the 1966 Schweppes PGA Close Championship and finishing after the 1967 Open Championship.  Team Great BritainNameAgePointsrankPreviousRyder CupsMatchesW–L–HWinningpercentage Dai Rees 54 Non-playing captain Peter Alliss 36 1 6 21 9–8–4 52.38 Hugh Boyle 31 9 0 Rookie Neil Coles 33 3 3 16 5–8–3 40.62 Malcolm Gregson 24 8 0 Rookie Brian Huggett 30 7 1 5 2–2–1 50.00 Bernard Hunt 37 4 6 21 6–12–3 35.71 Tony Jacklin 23 5 0 Rookie Christy O'Connor Snr 42 6 6 19 7–11–1 39.47 Dave Thomas 33 2 3 13 1–9–3 19.23 George Will 30 10 2 10 2–7–1 25.00

Friday matches October 20, 1967 Morning foursomes Results Huggett/WillhalvedCasper/BorosAlliss/O'Connor 2 & 1Palmer/DickinsonJacklin/Thomas 4 & 3Sanders/BrewerHunt/Coles 6 & 5Nichols/Pott 1 Session 2 1 Overall 2

Afternoon foursomes Results Huggett/Will 1 upCasper/BorosGregson/Boyle 5 & 4Dickinson/PalmerJacklin/Thomas 3 & 2Littler/GeibergerAlliss/O'Connor 2 & 1Nichols/Pott 1 Session 3 2 Overall 5

Saturday matches October 21, 1967 Morning four-ball Results Alliss/O'Connor 3 & 2Casper/BrewerHunt/Coles 1 upNichols/PottJacklin/Thomas 1 upLittler/GeibergerHuggett/Will 3 & 2Dickinson/Sanders 0 Session 4 2 Overall 9

Afternoon four-ball Results Hunt/Coles 5 & 3Casper/BrewerAlliss/Gregson 3 & 2Dickinson/SandersWill/Boyle 1 upPalmer/BorosJacklin/ThomashalvedLittler/Geiberger Session 3 3 Overall 13

Sunday matches October 22, 1967 Morning singles Results Hugh Boyle 4 & 3Gay BrewerPeter Alliss 2 & 1Billy CasperTony Jacklin 3 & 2Arnold PalmerBrian Huggett 1 upJulius BorosNeil Coles 2 & 1Doug SandersMalcolm Gregson 4 & 2Al GeibergerDave ThomashalvedGene LittlerBernard HunthalvedBobby Nichols 3 Session 5 6 Overall 18

Afternoon singles Results Brian Huggett 5 & 3Arnold PalmerPeter Alliss 2 & 1Gay BrewerTony Jacklin 3 & 2Gardner DickinsonChristy O'Connor 3 & 2Bobby NicholsGeorge Will 3 & 1Johnny PottMalcolm Gregson 2 & 1Al GeibergerBernard HunthalvedJulius BorosNeil Coles 2 & 1Doug Sanders 2 Session 5 8 Overall 23

Individual player records Each entry refers to the win–loss–half record of the player.

Source:

United States Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes FourballsJulius Boros 3 2–1–2 0–1–1 1–0–1 1–0–0Gay Brewer 3 3–2–0 1–1–0 0–1–0 2–0–0Billy Casper 4.5 4–0–1 1–0–0 1–0–1 2–0–0Gardner Dickinson 5 5–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0 2–0–0Al Geiberger 3.5 3–1–1 2–0–0 0–1–0 1–0–1Gene Littler 2 1–1–2 0–0–1 0–1–0 1–0–1Bobby Nichols 4.5 4–0–1 1–0–1 2–0–0 1–0–0Arnold Palmer 5 5–0–0 2–0–0 2–0–0 1–0–0Johnny Pott 4 4–0–0 1–0–0 2–0–0 1–0–0Doug Sanders 2 2–3–0 0–2–0 0–1–0 2–0–0

Great Britain Player Points Overall Singles Foursomes FourballsPeter Alliss 1 1–5–0 1–1–0 0–2–0 0–2–0Hugh Boyle 0 0–3–0 0–1–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Neil Coles 2 2–3–0 2–0–0 0–1–0 0–2–0Malcolm Gregson 0 0–4–0 0–2–0 0–1–0 0–1–0Brian Huggett 1.5 1–3–1 1–1–0 0–1–1 0–1–0Bernard Hunt 1 0–3–2 0–0–2 0–1–0 0–2–0Tony Jacklin 2.5 2–3–1 0–2–0 2–0–0 0–1–1Christy O'Connor 0 0–4–0 0–1–0 0–2–0 0–1–0Dave Thomas 3 2–1–2 0–0–1 2–0–0 0–1–1George Will 0.5 0–4–1 0–1–0 0–1–1 0–2–0

Nicklaus absence Despite having won his seventh major title as a professional at the U.S. Open in June, 27-year-old Jack Nicklaus was not a member of the U.S. team. At the time, a five-year apprenticeship as a professional was required before Ryder Cup points could be earned. Nicklaus turned pro in November 1961 and was granted tournament status at the end of that year. He expedited his status by passing PGA business classes in February 1966, and was granted full membership that June. Only then was he eligible to accumulate Ryder Cup points, which ended with the Masters in April. Captain's selections did not exist in 1967 and Nicklaus was in a slump following his win at the Masters in 1966; entering the Masters in 1967 as the two-time defending champion, he was in 13th place in the U.S. Ryder Cup standings. Also just off the team were Dave Marr and Bob Goalby. Nicklaus and Goalby missed the cut at Augusta and Marr's T-16 finish was not enough to pass Johnny Pott for the tenth and final spot on the team. Pott was 4–0–0 in the competition.

The outmoded five-year rule had similarly kept Arnold Palmer off the teams in 1957 and 1959. Don January won the PGA Championship in 1967 in July, but was also at home; the only reigning major champion on either team in 1967 was Masters champion Gay Brewer.

Nicklaus competed in the Ryder Cup as a player from 1969 through 1981, missing only in 1979. He was the non-playing captain in 1983 and 1987.

References

External links PGA of America: 1967 Ryder Cup About.com: 1967 Ryder Cup Champions Golf Club – official site